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The U.S., Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE are setting a price ceiling of less than $20 a dose after signing a $2 billion deal to supply their experimental coronavirus vaccine a step that will impact how much other companies can charge to protect people from Covid-19.
Rival drugmakers are unlikely to exceed the $20 price tag unless they can deliver a product that’s more effective, has fewer side effects or that doesn’t need as many doses, particularly those developing candidates based on so-called messenger RNA technology, such as Moderna Inc.
New York-based Pfizer, which is evaluating at least four experimental vaccines with Germany’s BioNTech, reported positive preliminary data from one of its candidates earlier this week.
In the Pfizer deal, the U.S. agreed to secure 100 million doses of its vaccine candidate. The payment depends on approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the ability to successfully manufacture it.
Source: Bloomberg
